Several citizens groups are urging the Florida Supreme Court to overturn an electricity rate increase for Florida Power & Light (FPL) approved by the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) in January.
Floridians Against Increased Rates (FAIR) and other nonprofits have appealed the 2022-through-2025 rate increase agreed to in October that will total $6.2 billion, according to FAIR. The utility now serves 12 million Florida residents.
“If allowed to stand, the 2021 FPL settlement will result in FPL’s customers paying hundreds of millions of dollars a year, totaling in the billions of dollars, in excessive costs over the next four years,” FAIR’s initial brief filed with the high court states. “This is a gross miscarriage of justice – imposed on FPL’s customers by the PSC’s failure to act consistently with its own contemporaneous decisions – and the court should reverse the order accordingly.”
FAIR argues that the utility manipulated its earnings and reserve funds to show it merited the rate increases. In turn, the October settlement deal will lead the utility to earn returns higher than the national average for electric utilities and higher than previously approved increases for Duke Energy and Tampa Electric, according to FAIR.
FPL, however, denies allegations by the appellants and the contention that the Public Service Commission lacks the needed legal authority to have approved the rate increase.
“FPL is reviewing the legal briefs filed in this case,” FPL spokesman Chris McGrath said in an email to the Florida Record. “Our four-year rate agreement, which was unanimously approved by the Florida Public Service Commission and signed by the state’s consumer advocate and numerous consumer and environmental advocacy organizations, will help FPL keep bills among the lowest in America.”
The rate agreement will enable the utility to make long-term investments in infrastructure, clean energy and innovative technology, according to McGrath.
In addition, these benefits will continue “as we build a more resilient and sustainable energy future all of us can depend on – including future generations,” he said.
Other groups involved in the consolidated rate hike challenge are the League of United Latin American Citizens of Florida and Environmental Confederation of Southwest Florida.